1904 Archives

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Michiko Matsumoto of Japan at age 111. She was born in Japan on 1 February 1904. She was a wife and mother.

At the age of 99, Matsumoto received a special visit from the mayor of Saijō City, where she resided with her grandson and his wife. This visit was followed by several others, with the mayor presenting her with gifts and celebrating her longevity. Despite her age, Matsumoto remained remarkably active, climbing stairs multiple times a day. She attributed her long life to her supportive family and her enjoyment of sweets and meat.

Matsumoto (right) at the age of 110, with the Mayor of Saijō, Masaru Aono. (Source: Saijō City)

In September 2014, she was reported as the third-oldest living person in Ehime Prefecture, after Yoneno Kouno and Hikari Kataoka. Upon Kataoka’s passing in February 2015, she became the second-oldest living person in the Prefecture.

Michiko Matsumoto passed away in Saijō City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, on 31 March 2015, at the age of 111 years, 58 days.

LongeviQuest congratulates Michiko Matsumoto’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Matsumoto’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Kie Taki of Japan at age 111. She was born in Akita Prefecture, Japan on 2 January 1904. Taki’s typical daily diet consisted of bread with honey or blueberry jam for breakfast. Followed by rice accompanied by pickled dried plums, sugar, or vinegar for both lunch and supper. These meals were complemented by side dishes of fresh vegetables, fried fish, and miso soup.

As a devout Christian, she attended church every Sunday to sing hymns with fellow worshippers. Her exceptional memory enabled her to memorize over fifty hymns by heart. In 2006, at the age of 102, NHK Banzai, a series celebrating the achievements of Japanese centenarians, reported that Taki had possessed the same Bible for fifteen years. For fifteen years, this well-worn Bible, marked with red pen notations, served as a repository of passages that deeply touched her or words she wished to remember daily.

Kie Taki’s 100th birthday.
(Source: Toyama Shimbun)

In 2004, on her 100th birthday, Taki received a special visit from the mayor at her home. She was presented with commemorative gifts. Upon being congratulated on her remarkable milestone, she humbly remarked, “I was sickly as a child, so even I’m surprised I lived to be 100.” Additionally, she received a congratulatory letter from the governor of Toyama Prefecture. When asked about the secret to her longevity, she attributed it to three simple practices: reading the newspaper, conversing with the trees in her garden, and living a tranquil life.

On 25 January 2015, following the death of 111-year-old Sue Hirano, she became the oldest living person in Toyama Prefecture.

Kie Taki passed away in Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, on 16 August 2015. Following her passing, she was succeeded as the Prefecture’s oldest living resident by Tsuya Hayashi.

LongeviQuest congratulates Kie Taki’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Taki’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Marguerite Wabano at 111 years old. She was a Canadian supercentenarian known as the oldest living person in the country at the time of her death.

Marguerite Wabano was bon on 28 January 1904. It was reported that she was born “out in the bush” along Ekwan River just north of the present-day Attawapiskat First Nation in Kenora District, Ontario, Canada.

She attended St. Anne’s Indian Residential School when she was around seven years old before. Just after two years of being at school, her family relocated deeper into the wilderness to protect her and her siblings from the authorities and the school.

As a young woman, she married Raphael “Napihen” Wabano along the Kattawapiskak River and eventually had seven children together. The family moved to Moosonee so her husband could search for employment. Around 1995, her husband passed away.

At the age of 110.
(Source: Paul Lantz)

When Mrs. Wabano was 99 years old, she got a pacemaker implanted in her. However, the doctors detected that it had stopped working and they were not sure for how long it had been inactive.

When she was 110 years old, she was living alone while occasionally receiving some help from her children or grandchildren. At this point, she could still walk while being aided by a walker.

Mrs. Wabano passed away on 13 November 2015 in Moosonee, Ontario, Canada. At the time of her death, she was 111 years old making her the oldest living person in the county at that time.

For more information, please view Marguerite Wabano’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Fujino Kuroda of Japan. She was born in Japan on 2 June 1904 and passed away in Ōnan, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, on 3 November 2015, at the age of 111.

On 9 March 2015, following the death of 112-year-old Kitsuyo Yamamoto, she became the oldest living person in Shimane Prefecture.

LongeviQuest congratulates Fujino Kuroda’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Kuroda’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Miki Imamura at 111 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian born on 4 March 1904, in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

She graduated from Oe Girls’ High School which is now named as Kumamoto Face Gakuin High School.

Miki met her future husband, Daiki Imamura, at a Protestant church in Minamata. They later got married when she was 20 years old.

At the age of 75.
(Source: 柳屋本舗美貴もなか)

After the wedding, the couple started to sell daily necessities by managing a haberdashery. When Miki was 29 years old, the couple founded a Japanese confectionary shop. This is due to her husband wanting her to showcase her culinary talents. She trained under Japanese confectioner and researched on making red bean paste. Later on, she was able to commercialize her product named “Yōkan” which quickly became a popular confectionery in the area.

In the 1970s, she developed a new product with the help of her second son. She included her first name in the product’s name and called it “Miki Monaka.”

Miki Imamura passed away on 6 November 2015, in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. She was 111 years old at the time of her death.

For more information, please view Miki Imamura’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Sakae Kadota of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan at 112 years old. She was a supercentenarian born on 25 September 1904 and at the time of her passing, she was the third-oldest living person in the prefecture.

Kadota cooked by herself until she was about 100 years old. She stated that eating vegetables as much as possible in addition to walking around the house is her secret for longevity.

On her 105th birthday in 2009.
(Source: Kanda Town)

Sakae Kadota passed away at the age of 112 years old on 12 January 2017, in Kanda, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

For more information, please view Sakae Kadota’s Directory Profile here.